The plausibility of successful activism through online petitions faded years ago. For a short while back in the 1990s, politicians paid a little bit of attention to online petitions, but they don’t any more. Every now and then, there’s an Internet petition that gets such a huge amount of support that it breaks through into some small degree of impact, but mostly, online petitions are crass tools used by organizations to build up their lists of potential donors.
I believe in activism, but activism that works is what I’m concerned with. Activism that merely provides the feeling of taking part in a political movement doesn’t cut it.
I usually automatically pass right by any solicitation to sign an online petition. This evening, however, I paused for a few seconds when I saw the following message: “Wealthy individuals are buying our government — and they’re doing so anonymously. You can help unmask them. All you need to do is take 60 seconds to sign a petition…”
If I take 60 seconds to sign that petition, will the wealthy individuals who are buying our government be unmasked? Is it really that easy to counter the influence of multimillionaires?
Gosh. If I took 90 seconds to sign a petition, I might be able to counter the political influence of a billionaire.
hurdy gurdy birdy turds to you too ed!
i sign a ton of on-line petitions, especially to stop environmental degradation, promote food labelling (for gm), to help exploited farmworkers, and to let my jerk-off congressperson know i’m watching. It’s too bad they don’t read or pay attention to them. i’ve even commented to Obama about crap he’s pulling. Well, it helps me to vent at any rate.
http://www.petitiononline.com/
This is my favorite petition site. It have the most petitions anywhere. I must have signed litterally hundreds of petitions!
Gerald Celente predictions vindicated:
2009
“The Crash of ’09 was as dramatic as the crash of ’29. The New Depression had begun.” (Trends Journal, Summer 2008, pg. 12)
[edit] 2010
Some areas of the U.S. are experiencing resurgences in real estate values due to highly localized factors, and some investors profit from this. However, the rises will almost all stop and reverse with time, and the overall national trend in real estate values is downward. (T.J. Summer 08, pg.
Ghost malls have become a common sight across America. Especially hard-hit are big chain stores (Sears, Home Depot, etc.). (T.J. Summer 08, pg.
[edit] 2011
Developers have begun rehabbing some of the ghost malls for more productive uses. (T.J. Summer 08, pg. 9)
[edit] 2012
The economic policies of the U.S. government over the past few years have failed to fix America’s fundamental problems and have merely papered over them and in fact made them worse. By 2012, the “American Empire” is collapsing. In the U.S., basic staple goods like quality food and water are too expensive for most people to afford,(T.J. Summer 08, pg. 1) and “food riots” happen across the country (T.J. Summer 09, pg.1). Major American cities look like disaster zones, and mass homelessness exists across the country. Crime is rampant, with much of it being directed at the rich. (T.J. Summer 08, pg. 1) Kidnappings and ransomings of rich people are on the rise. Average people fed up with big government, high taxes and out-of-control spending join tax revolts. (T.J. Summer 09, pg. 1) The world is also experiencing major environmental problems and “the blackest of plagues.” The global financial system has also “melted down” and the situation is very bad outside the U.S.(T.J. Summer 08, pg. 1) The advanced industrial economies collapse first, and their sagging consumer spending drags down the export-based economies of emerging economies next.(T.J. Summer 09, pg. 2) The economy is as bad as it was during the Great Depression in many ways. In spite of all this, the U.S. government, power elites, and mainstream media continue to insist that the fundamentals of the world economy are sound, and that official policies can lead to a recovery. A growing number of average people, however, doubt this. (T.J. Summer 08, pg. 1)
While the Mayan and Hopi prophecies of global destruction do not come to pass, 2012 is indeed a watershed year that sees the death of an ailing and unsustainable global economic system and lifestyle and its replacement with something better. (T.J. Summer 08, pg. 2)
By 2012, Obama is viewed by most as a stale president who sold himself as a fresh, visionary candidate in 2008 and instead proved to be a servant of the big corporations and the military-industrial complex like his predecessors.(T.J. Summer 09, pg. 5) His economic policies only delayed disaster and in fact have made the situation worse: Expansionary monetary policy and the various government bailouts and stimulus programs create a “Bailout Bubble” that invariably bursts in a cataclysm for the U.S. and world economy.(T.J. Summer 09, pg. 11) Obama blames other factors for this and might have even tried to start a war by 2012 to distract attention from the domestic misery.(T.J. Summer 09, pg. 12) Obama’s foreign policy has also failed to accomplish anything significant on the world stage, and Pakistan is a mess and the Afghan war continues to drag on without hope of conclusion.(T.J. Summer 09, pg. 12)
In the 2012 U.S. elections, online news sites, bloggers and independent journalists wield as much influence on voters as mainstream media outlets (TV, cable, magazines, newspapers) for the first time. This breaks the corporate and moneyed stranglehold on American politics and allows a third party to attain nation-level recognition. (T.J. Summer 08, pg. 5)
[edit] Broad future trends
Americans will adapt to lower standards of living and will travel less, both on a daily basis and for vacations. Higher fuel costs, advances in telecommuting and an aging American population will push many more people to work from home or close to home. Walking-distance communities will be constructed and will become popular. (T.J. Summer 08, pg. 7)
Geographically isolated resort destinations like Las Vegas will wither due to higher fuel costs, lower American incomes and increased overseas competition while vacation spots closer to population centers will revive. (T.J. Summer 08, pg. 9)
Government-run lotteries, on the other hand, will thrive. (T.J. Summer 08, pg. 9)
In America and to a lesser extent overseas, consumer spending habits will be motivated out of fear and escapism. Businesses that capitalize upon this will succeed. (T.J. Summer 09, pg. 24)